What is your worship gathering like?
The basic pattern of our worship gathering is shared by millions of Christians all over the world. The service has two main sections. In the first, we read from the Bible, listen to a sermon, and pray (known as the “Liturgy of the Word”).
In the second part of our worship, we receive Communion—that is, we eat a little bread and wine, the food from Jesus’ final meal on earth, as a way to celebrate that Jesus died and rose again for us (known as the “Liturgy of the Table” or Holy Eucharist).
Everything you need to participate in worship will be printed out in a simplified worship booklet. We’ve tried to take away the awkward stress of fumbling around with too many resources.
Want to see for yourself? Check out our YouTube livestream archive or join the online service live on Sundays at 10am MST!
WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO COMMUNION?
We welcome all baptized believers in Christ to come to the Table of the Lord. Regardless of your church background, if you’re baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and are committed to following Him, we’d love for you to share Communion with us.
If that’s not quite how you’d describe yourself, there are several ways you can respond to Christ’s invitation during Communion:
Reflect on what you’ve heard
Listen to or sing along with our musicians
Spend time in prayer or ask someone to pray for you (we frequently have prayer ministers waiting to pray with you in an area adjacent to the worship space).
You can also come forward at Communion with your arms crossed over your chest to receive a blessing from the priest.
How Should I dress to attend a worship gathering?
However you want. Some people wear jeans and others ‘dress up.’ We hope you’ll feel comfortable however you’re dressed.
What kind of music do you have?
We play a variety of music in rotation throughout the year. Some of it was written centuries ago—some of it was written this year. We call this an “ancient-future” approach to worship music. You’ll also notice different tones and moods throughout the year depending on where we are in the church calendar.
All of the words are provided in your worship booklet for your participation. If you’re not comfortable singing, we hope you’ll feel free to express your worship in other ways as you feel led, whether by raising your hands, clapping, or even dancing! The whole body is an instrument of praise, not just the voice.
How long is the worship gathering?
Our worship normally lasts between an hour-fifteen to an hour-thirty, but it is very interactive with a lot of opportunities for movement mixed in.
IS YOUR WORSHIP SPACE WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE?
Yes! Wheelchair access at our new worship space is available from the primary entrance at the south side of the building complex.
Learn more about where we gather.
What do you have for my children?
We welcome your children and celebrate them as members of the community. We have a check-in process before the service for parents and caregivers so we know who’s who. Your children can worship with you until the sermon, when they’re escorted out to Children’s Worship time until we break for announcements and parents go retrieve their little ones. There is also a nursery available during the whole service for infants and toddlers (with a wireless speaker so parents can still hear what’s happening in the service).
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Visitors to Christ Our Hope may notice that we do not offer a lot of traditional “programming;” this is a deliberate philosophy we try to uphold. We believe that the kind of Kingdom ministry Jesus calls us to happens mostly outside the four walls of the Church building. Sadly, many Christians find themselves so busy with organized church activities throughout the week that they don’t have the time to connect with other members or (more to the point) connect with unchurched friends, relations and co-workers outside of those programs.
We believe ministry to the Body is done when one member picks up the phone to call another and see how they are doing, or provides a meal when a family needs it. And we believe that most people who are disconnected from God and from Church are going to come through the front door of a member’s home, not the front door of our building.
Similarly, we have a different approach to Children’s Ministry at Christ Our Hope. We believe that the primary place children are made disciples of Jesus is their own homes as they see their parents model what it means to follow Jesus. We also believe that the Christian liturgy (the prayers and order of worship we use each week) is the primary tool the Church can offer a family in aiding in this work of disciple making. We believe our children are most impacted by learning to worship Jesus by…well, worshiping. This is why we put such an emphasis on worshiping together as families and with the whole Parish community.
As such, we do not offer a children’s ministry program that begins when families walk in the door on a Sunday morning and ends when they are ready to leave. Children spend the majority of their Sunday morning worshiping with the whole gathered community, participating in the singing, the prayers, listening to Scripture read aloud and participating in the Lord’s Table.
We do, however, acknowledge that it is important for children to hear a Bible message appropriate to their own developmental level. So, during the sermon and some of the liturgy that immediately follows it, children are dismissed to the children’s ministry classrooms to learn together in a way that we trust will plant the Good News of Jesus deep in their hearts.